Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/619725
36 WINES&VINES January 2016 Winemaking T artrate stabilization, often called cold stabiliza- tion, is a wine treatment for the cosmetic benefit of avoiding tartrate crystal formation. Intellectu- ally you know you don't really need to do it, but you do it anyway. So the priority is to get it done while minimizing both the risk of degrading wine quality and cost. Until recently, winemakers had few choices. Typically they would set their glycol chiller to 20° F or so, then cool a tank to 26°-28° F for several days and let it slowly warm back up on its own. To speed up the process, winemakers might seed tanks with potassium bitartrate (KHT), and/or use heat exchangers to warm up chilled wine. While refrigeration achieves the desired goal of provid- ing tartrate stability by removing excess KHT, it: a) takes considerable time to get the desired result, with a range of one to five weeks; b) exposes wine to potential oxidation, as oxygen solubility in wine increases as temperature is low- ered, and c) increases product costs through energy required to chill and warm up the wine, product loss through tartrate lees, and labor spent cleaning a tartrate-encrusted tank. Finally, excessive energy use to achieve a cosmetic benefit doesn't align it- self with promises of sustainability. The good news is there are now alternatives to refrigera- tion being used by hundreds of commercial wineries, and others have settled the frontier ahead of you. Regarding adoption of new technology and methods, I have often said that winemakers want to "be the first to be sec- ond" in an industry where some brag about using more 18th century methods than the guy down the street. There are two types of technologies now com- mercially available to achieve tartrate stability. Both methods provide instantaneous results, avoid the risk associated with oxygen exposure when chilling wine to 28° F and are cost effective. Be advised that the analyses to determine both wine suitability and tartrate stability success are dif- ferent from what is used when chilling. Unlike refrigeration, wine condition is critical (these are added to clean, protein-stable wines very close to bottling). The methods Electrodialysis: Commonly known by the brand name STARS (Specific Tartrate Removal System) and offered by Oenodia, electrodialysis is a process in which wine is pumped through a piece of equipment that captures and removes only tartrate ions. Once the wine has moved from tank A to tank B, the wine is stable. Tartrate crystal inhibitors: These include manno- proteins extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast (brand names Mannostab and Claristar) and carboxymethyl-modified vegetal-origin cellulose polymers commonly known as CMC (brand name Celstab). They surround the KHT molecules and prevent them from binding to each other. Laffort USA offers Mannostab and Celstab, while Scott Labs offers Claristar. Winesandvines.com and practicalwinery- library.com have archived several excel- lent reports over the years detailing how these methods work, how to use them properly, benefits and po- n ANDY STARR Warming to New Tartrate Stabilization Methods Using massive amounts of energy to attain tartrate stability is inconsistent with sustainable practices and no longer necessary. TOP: BRIDGET WILLIAMS